Following are notable excerpts from new Big East commissioner Mike Aresco’s conference call with the media:

“I’ve had a great career at CBS. I feel I am leaving a good legacy at CBS . . . This was a new opportunity and a new personal challenge and I really embrace it.”

“What I need to do is make sure that the current membership feels that I am a tireless, tireless proponent of the conference, that I am telling the conference’s story effectively, that I am a good ambassador for the conference, that I am seeking consensus.”

“I would not have taken this job if I didn’t feel confident that this conference was cohesive and the individual schools were committed to each other.”

“The interest in this hire shows how important the Big East is and how much people care about the Big East.”

“The TV rights … is obviously job one. That’s extremely important to the financial stability of the conference. Clearly that is a major undertaking.”

“I want make this state of the art conference. I’m going to look at all the conference operations. I want the Big East to be a leader, to be at the cutting edge not only on the field but in the classroom and with NCAA legislation.”

On dealing with the varied interests of the football and basketball-driven schools: “They share a common vision: Be competitive on the field and in the classroom. But I also think it’s very important that the basketball and football schools stick together. They want to stay together. It’s clear that they are committed to each other. Each makes the other stronger. Obviously it’s a diverse and complex conference but in that diversity lies a great deal of strength.”

“It’s obviously been a volatile period. I’ll leave it at that. But things seem to be settling down. There seems to be some calm, which it think will prevail. We all need that.”

“Notre Dame is a valuable member . . . I’ll do everything I can to keep them comfortable.”

On having a huge conference: “It means you have many games, a lot of interest nationally. It’s different from other conference because you have the basketball schools. Those (basketball) schools are extremely valuable.”

On the Big East not being respected by other major leagues: “It’s the Big Six (not the Big Five). I believe the Big East is an elite conference. I’m not phased by any of that (talk). The league deserves to be in the Big Six; it’s one of the Big Six . . . I think people might be overlooking the strength of the schools that have been added, especially in football.”

The basketball TV contract vs. football contract: “They enhance each other. It’s complex mix but they all work to enhance the sum.”

On the fact that he lives near New York City but the Big East headquarters is located in Providence: “The fact that I live new New York has nothing to do with the location of the conference office. In the next few months I fully anticipate being in Providence on a full-time basis. The conference is conducting a major strategic review. All aspects of the conference’s operations are being evaluated. I’ll be a part of that, but I don’t know what’s going to happen. For now I’m looking forward to being in Providence.”